


Life is Strange 2: Unexpected Trials: Episode 1

by AssassinMasterEzio91



Series: Unexpected Trials [1]
Category: Life Is Strange 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Bullying, Crushes, Danger, Developing Relationship, F/F, F/M, Family Secrets, Friendship, Kidnapping, Love Triangles, Male-Female Friendship, Misunderstandings, Multi, Racism, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-14 08:24:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18049031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssassinMasterEzio91/pseuds/AssassinMasterEzio91
Summary: Sean Diaz is just trying to get through high school, while having a major crush on a girl in school, hoping to finally admit the truth to her in the hopes of them forming a true relationship. Meanwhile his brother Daniel meets a new kid in school, hoping to form a new friendship with him. But an unexpected secret in their father's past puts them all under threat, as well as those they care about.





	1. Wednesday 26th October 2016

**Author's Note:**

> An LIS2 story I came up with, decided to work it in an Episode format, much like the games themselves, due to their sizes, I've made each Episode a separate story, split into chapters. This chapter is mostly inspired by the opening of the game, with some slight but obvious differences.

**Life is Strange 2: Unexpected Trials**

**Episode 1: Secrets**

**Chapter 1**

_Wednesday 26 th October 2016  
_

The late afternoon sun shone on the neighbourhood of 1452 Lewis Avenue, nicknamed Lame Avenue by some inhabitants. Two of those inhabitants had just disembarked from a school bus having returned from their day at school. The first to get off the bus was a tall teenage boy aged sixteen, almost seventeen, his tanned skin tone hinted at his Hispanic origins, specifically Mexican, her also had short brown hair and brown eyes and was clad in a pair of jeans with sneakers and a grey hoodie with a SQUAD logo on it as well as a simple white T-shirt under it.

With him was a seventeen year old Asian girl, only slightly shorter than the boy, she had light tan skin and brown hair reaching down between her chin and shoulders in length, brown eyes. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a dark grey sweater and yellow high-tops. The boy was checking his phone, biting his lip, clearly concerned about something. Noticing this the girl stood on tip-toe, peeking over his shoulder, trying to see his phone.

Noticing this the boy hid it from him. “Hey, no peeking, Miss Park.”  
  
Laughing good naturedly at this she stepped up next to him.

“Oh really Mr. Diaz and what is so secret you don’t want me to see it?” She teased. “Texting Jenn Murphy huh?”  
  
Immediately the boy looked away, trying to hide his blush. “Urgh, seriously.”

Sighing the girl shook her head. “C’mon Sean, let’s see it.”

Sean Diaz reluctantly gave in and handed his phone to the girl.

Thrusting his hands in his pockets he fretted over what she would say. It was true, he was trying to text Jenn Murphy, a girl at school whom he had a crush on, trying to lay some groundwork, hoping to work up the nerve to finally ask her out at the Halloween themed party that was due to be held in two days by one of his friends.

‘ _All the same, who knows what Lyla will do...’_ He reflected worriedly.

“You’re kidding.” Lyla Park suddenly burst out. “This is the best you can do? ‘Hey Jenn, u going to the party’. Seriously, you have no game.”

Sean shrugged. “What you can do better.”  
  
“Of course I can, let Lyla the Love Witch work her matchmaker skills.” She replied with a smirk.

Sean became anxious again. “Just...don’t make me sound like a dork.”

Lyla laughed. “I said matchmaker, not miracle worker.”  
  
“Oh ha-ha.” Sean replied, finally taking his phone back and checking it. “Would be awesome 2 see u there?”

Lyla nodded. “Trust me, combined with yours, it’ll work.”

Sean nodded slowly before putting the phone back in his pocket.  As they walked on down the street however they had the displeasure of noting someone familiar sitting on the front porch of their house. It was a young man of eighteen with fair skin, short brown hair, hazel eyes and a strong build, with a notable scar across the bridge of his nose. He was wearing a pair of grey athletic shorts with a silver chain attached to the waistband, a grey baseball T-shirt with dark blue sleeves and simple black shoes.

It was Brett Foster, Sean’s neighbour and all around bully.

“Hey lovebirds.” He sneered at them. “Back from the loony bin.”  
  
“Fuck you asshole!” Lyla snapped, flipping him off, not even looking at him.

S ean grimaced, knowing his words had been aimed generally at both of them, taunting them about school, Brett being a high school drop out. But his words had a more specific meaning for Lyla, due to her mental health issues.

Sean shook his head. “Ignore him, he’s not worth it.”

“I know, I just...fuck it, we’ve got more important things to talk about.” Lyla replied.

By this point they were well away from Brett and outside the Diaz family home; a simple low home consisting of two floors, the main floor and the lower garage and storage room.  Taking a seat on the porch together Sean and Lyla looked around, taking in their surroundings. As they sat Lyla took out her cigarettes,  pulled one out of the pack and held it out to Sean.

“Want one?”  
  
“No can do.” He replied. “Can’t have dad busting me again.”

Lyla shrugged. “He won’t bust me and you know it, he likes me too much.”  
  
They both laughed and Lyla light her cigarette and inhaled before taking it away and gently exhaling. They sat quietly for a while, until finally Lyla grinned.

“So anyway, we need to figure out stuff for the party.” She said.

Also grinning Sean agreed. “True, we need to figure out things like supplies...costumes…?”

Lyla nodded. “True, we might need more than that though...but let’s worry about the details later, it’s not for a couple of days right. Anyway, shouldn’t we be getting home, need to make sure we’re all ready and you need to work on your game if you wanna sweep Jenn of her feet.”  
  
“Oh shut up.” Sean shot back, shaking his head; knowing her teasing was all good natured.

They sat for a while again, while Lyla continued to smoke before finally shrugging.

“Well, I’ll see you later, Skype me?”

Sean nodded, standing up. “Sure thing; we’ll talk more then.”  
  
Still smoking Lyla stood up and nodded to him before heading off down the street, heading for her own house. After watching her go Sean turned and headed up to the front door of the house and opened it, heading inside.

Closing the door behind him Sean paused and smiled as he noted the two other occupants of the house, seated on opposite sides of the kitchen counter, easily visible from the entrance in the living room due to the open-floor plan of the house.  The first was a boy of nine, of average height for his age short messy dark brown hair, brown eyes and the same skin tone as Sean, clad in cargo shorts, a red T-shirt with an unbuttoned blue and black plaid shirt over it and simple sneakers. It was his younger brother, Daniel Diaz.

The other was their father Esteban, a man of forty five, it was from him the boys got their Mexican heritage as well as their hair and eye colour, Esteban’s hair being short and neat and facial hair resembling a five o’clock shadow. He was wearing a pair of stained jeans, a white undershirt with a brown button-up work shirt over it and boots, all suitable for his mechanic job, which was the main use for the downstairs garage.

Sean  smiled and called out. “I'm home.”

H is brother and father both react at once, turning to face him.

Daniel  was the first to react. “Sean, at last, tell dad...”

“Ah now Daniel, Sean needs to know the whole story.” Esteban interrupted.

Sean  raised an eyebrow. “What's up?”

H e was sensing a little family drama all of a sudden.

Daniel pouted but said nothing; while Esteban explained, smiling.

“So, we need you to settle a little dispute for us. We're down to one last Choc-o-Crisp, the question is, who deserves it more.” He explained. “Daniel here who eats about ten of them a day, or your hard working father. You have to the judge.”

Sean sighed. _‘Oh boy, this again.’_

H e wasn’t surprised, he’d seen these playful disputes often.

Daniel  immediately began pleading. “C'mon Sean, I...”

“No pressuring me now.” Sean replied, trying to hold back his laughter.

“Fine.”

Sean ponder ed for a moment  considering and in the end he couldn’t help himself.  He soon ma de his decision.

“Okay, as the judge, I declare...” He announced, picking the Choc-o-Crisp up. “Daniel, the rightful owner of the last Choc-o-Crisp.”

Daniel  cheered as Sean handed it to him. “Yes!.”

Esteban  just laughed. “Ha, why am I not surprised.”

“Dad!.” They both cried out.

He just laugh ed again. “What it’s good that you two are so close. Well, anyway, I better get back to work, you two make yourselves comfortable...Sean, if you have homework, get started.”

Sean nodded, knowing he would, but only after he spoke to Lyla. “Sure, Daniel?”  
  
“Already finished.” His brother announced with a grin.

Sean just nodded and soon Esteban returned to the garage while both brothers heading their rooms.

Sean smiled lightly as he looked around his room, closing the door behind him. On the wall to the left of the door, a bulletin board was set up with various papers and photos of Sean and his friends. In the corner opposite to the door was a large cabinet, which had Sean's work uniform hanging from one of its handles.

Lying beside the cabinet were his gym bag, a pair of green running shoes, and a speaker. Next to the cabinet was a desk, which held Sean’s laptop and mouse, a lava lamp, a cinema light box, a pad of sticky notes, and a pencil holder. He had placed his skateboard underneath the desk, and his red swivel chair was positioned in front of it. On the wall next to the door was a desk, which held Sean's MP3 player, an assortment of DVDs, a speaker, a pair of headphones, a tablet, and a stack of art books.

To the right of the desk was a white bookshelf, which held Sean's collection of novels as well as a sketchbook and a toy rocket ship Daniel had gifted to him. Sean's bed was pushed up against the corner opposite to the door. Underneath the bed were several piles of dirty clothes, and above the bed were two shelves, one of which held several track-and-field trophies Sean had won, while the other held another skateboard. The brown and blue paint covering the room's walls was visibly beginning to chip, and a yellow paper lantern hung from the center of the ceiling.

The walls were covered with various notes, newspaper clippings, posters, magazine clippings, and sticky notes with small doodles that Sean had put up all himself, the sketches were also his own. Beside the door was a poster for one of Sean's  favourite films, The Grub. Next to the bulletin board was another large poster, this one depicting a yellow road streaking across a blue landscape with the words "the end of an era". Above Sean's bed was a poster for a band called "FAILURE", as well as a motivational running poster. 

Not wasting any time however Sean immediately made his way over to his computer chair, sat down and set up Skype, ready to call Lyla.

“Hey.” He greeted her the moment she answered. “Eager much?”

Lyla just laughed. “About time, so, what’s up?”

Sean shrugged. “Ah, just had to break up another little dispute between Dad and Daniel, over who got the last Choc-o-Crisp.”

“Awww, that’s sweet.” Lyla remarked softly.

Sean rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, so, what about the party?”

“Oh yeah, okay, the things we need to get alright.” Lyla explained, picking up a notepad. “Got a list here, um…snacks.”

“Obviously, better pack extras in case you get the munchies girl.” Sean laughed.

Lyla scoffed. “Pff, please, you’ll end up hogging most of them anyway, drinks, preferably booze...a blanket for after the party, you know, sit out and watch the stars.”

Sean grinned. “Sounds awesome, oh and...weed of course.”

“Of course.” Lyla remarked.

They both laughed at that. Then a devilish gleam appeared in Lyla’s eye.

“Oh and uh, you’re gonna need to bring some condoms.”

“What, oh shut up.” Sean groaned. “This is not...”

She shrugged. “Hey, you never know, better safe than sorry, right?”

“I’m just gonna ignore that implication.” He muttered.

Lyla then queried. “Oh and while we're on the subject, you heard from Jenn yet?”

Sean opened his mouth just as his phone indicated a text, from Jenn. “Just there, she's...looking forward to the party as well.”

He had answered while checking the text in which Jenn had replied, ‘Hi Sean, will be at the party, can’t wait to meet you there.’ What Sean didn’t mention was the winking emoji she had sent at the end of the text.

Lyla nodded. “Awesome.”

It was then Sean noted Lyla was smirking knowingly.

He quickly tried to head her off. “Don't even start.”

“Alright, chill, we've got time so, we'll figure everything out tomorrow, kay.” Lyla replied and then offered.

Sean agreed and with that done he simply settled in to the rest of the day, taking it easy, wondering what tomorrow would bring.


	2. Thursday 27th October 2016

**Life is Strange 2: Unexpected Trials**

**Episode 1: Secrets**

**Chapter 2**

_Thursday 27 th October 2016  
_

Exiting from his bedroom, Sean yawned, it was the start of yet another day. He briefly wondered what the day would bring as he sat at the counter separating the kitchen from the living room, smoothing down his clothes. Said clothes consisted of an orange hoodie with black pants and sneakers and a red beanie.

“Hey, Daniel not ready yet?” He asked his father.

They had been up for a while, all had already had breakfast and while Sean and Daniel were supposed to hurry and get the school bus for their respective schools, Sean found only himself sitting, ready. Esteban was washing up the breakfast dishes, already dressed for the day in a white undershirt, dark jeans and black boots.

“Nope, he better get a move or he’s gonna be late.” Esteban remarked.

Sean sighed and got up, making his way to Daniel’s room. He should have expected this.

“Daniel!” He called as he knocked on his brother’s door.

Daniel called back. “Hold on, I’m...I’m kinda busy.”

Sean shook his head. “No Daniel, now, we gotta hurry or we’ll be late.”

Daniel then opened the door, already dressed for the day in a light red T-shirt with jeans and sneakers.

“Alright, alright.” He pouted. “Always rushing me.”

“We don’t wanna get in trouble, now c’mon.” Sean remarked.

Daniel sighed but nodded in agreement and so the brothers left and luckily caught their buses on time, making their way to their respective schools.

* * *

 

Seated at his desk in class, Daniel sighed, already bored and the day hadn’t even begun yet.

‘ _Man, now what am I gonna do, I mean...’_ He began thinking, but was pulled from his thoughts.

The teacher had entered and wasn’t alone, but it wasn’t until she spoke that Daniel realized this.

“Okay everyone, pay attention please, we have a new student starting today.” The teacher said. “This is Chris Eriksen, I want you all to make him feel welcome.”

Daniel looked up and soon spotted Chris, a boy the same age as him, of average height for his age, skinny with short blonde hair and blue eyes, he also had some notable freckles on his face and was clad in a light green shirt displaying a superhero image, brown pants and simple sneakers.

“Um, hi.” He said, by way of introducing himself to the class.

Daniel bit his lip noting this.  _‘Poor kid, he seems shy...hmmm, maybe I could help him. I could try and be friends with him, maybe help him open up.’_

Still smiling at that thought Daniel shifted in his seat, restless, as class soon began, Chris being assigned a temporary seat for now. As the school day started and the lesson began Daniel tried to work, but soon found himself getting distracted. Unable to help himself he had drifted from doing his work to simply mindlessly doodling in his book.

“Daniel Diaz.”

He started and looked up, immediately grimacing as his guilt was spelled out on his face. The teacher was standing over him, clearly able to see what he had been doing.

Sighing indulgently the teacher shook his head. “While I congratulate your art skills, we are not doing an art class right now, please focus on the actual work.”

Daniel nodded and tried to pay more attention.

* * *

At his own school, Sean had arrived in enough time to find and hang out with his friends for a while before the first class of the day. He looked around for his friends, but luckily didn’t have to look far, or for a long time.

“Hey Sean, over here.”

He turned, grinning, trust Lyla to notice him right away. He soon spotted her, waving him over, she had dressed up in a purple hoodie, grey leggings and simple converse and was already with the rest of his friend, a small group of people who all shared similar interests, gaming, skateboarding and the track team.

“Hey there.” He greeted Lyla, before turning to the others. “Hi guys.”

They all returned his greeting as Sean turned to each of them in turn. Once again noting the delightful fact that, despite being the only girl, Lyla was always so much at ease with them and sometimes, especially on a skateboard, got the better of them.

The first of his friends was Ellery, a dark skinned young man with short cut black hair, black eyes and a reasonable build, he was dressed in a yellow T-shirt, khaki pants and sneakers.

Then there was Eric, tall with light skin, short messy dark brown hair, brown eyes and clad in a dark red T-shirt with a hawk design, black pants and sneakers, he was the host of the upcoming party.

Then there was Adam, the top gamer amongst them, he was slightly shorter and heavier than them with short brown hair and brown eyes, as well as facial hair as he was often too lazy to shave, he wore a brown T-shirt with matching cargo pants and boots.

His smile dropped slightly as he noted the last member of the group. A young man of medium height with medium length brown hair and hazel eyes, clad in dark jeans, a camo hoodie and boots. It was Harv, the one member of the group who was less of a friend and more of an acquaintance of Sean.

‘ _So long as he doesn’t start with any of his crass comments, we’ll be fine.’_ Sean told himself.

If there was one thing Sean truly disliked about Harv, it was his near constant attempts to find sexual innuendos to tease people with.  Still Sean decided he could put up with it if kept to a minimum and they soon all got to talking.  Suddenly smirking, Lyla elbowed Sean to get his attention

“Hey!”

“What, just thought you might be interested...” She said with an innocent expression as she gestured.

Sean followed her gestured and soon spotted the person who Lyla was referring to. He bit his lip as his gaze landed on none other than his crush, Jenn Murphy.

“Oh boy.” He whispered.

Jenn was a reasonably tall girl of sixteen, just an inch or two shorter than Sean himself, she had her medium length vibrant red hair tied in a bun today and her green eyes reflected warmth and cheerfulness. She was fair skinned with a slim build but blessed with a generous figure, but not too much and she looked amazing, clad in a light blue crop top that showed a little of her stomach and light coloured jean shorts with calf-high boots emphasizing her long slender legs.

Sean couldn’t help but be enraptured.

He smile d  lightly  and whispered . “Wow.”

Eric  laughed. “Aww just look at you bro.”

“Are you sweating?”Adam remarked, almost laughing himself.

Sean  immediately felt his face heat up, realizing what they were saying. “No.”

Ellery  shook his head at this denial. “ You are dude, seriously.”

Sean grimaced, praying he wasn’t actually blushing.

Lyla  also seemed to jump on the moment. “Deep breathing, man.”

Sean  scowled. “ Urgh, shut up.”

But they just ignored him and continued to tease him, thankfully Harv didn’t start up with his usual brand of humor or Sean was sure he would have lost it right there.  It was actually with some relief that entered his first class of the day, some time later.

‘ _Finally.’_ He thought to himself.

“Hey!”

He turned, startled. “Lyla?”

“Over here.” She called.

He finally spotted her, seated at one of the desks near the back of the room. He smiled and was about to approach but then paused, for sitting there next to Lyla, also smiling, was Jenn.

‘ _Oh, brother. She’s set me up.’_ Sean realized. _‘Dammit Lyla...’_

It was clear she wanted him to come over and therefore start a conversation with Jenn. Taking a deep breath he made up his mind and did just that.

He tried to take the fact that Jenn smiled warmly as he approached as a good sign, but if anything he just felt more nervous.

“H-hey.” He stammered at last.

“Hey there.” Lyla greeted, casual as usual.

Jenn smiled wider and also replied. “Hi Sean.”

“H-hi...So, um, I...” He found himself stammering. _‘Uh oh, not good.’_

He was already stumbling over his words and struggling to make _any_ headway. His palms were sweaty and his mouth felt dry.

Jenn looked at him curious. “Huh?”

He quickly tried to recover. “It’s, it’s nothing.”

“Yeah?” She asked.

He nodded wondering how else he was going to embarrass himself.

“Sean, it’s fine.” Lyla tried to encourage, to no avail.

Before he could say anything else however the teacher arrived and everyone was instructed to take their seats. Sean did so, feeling slightly relieved that he hadn’t embarrassed himself further. But as the lesson began he feared the damage was already done.

‘ _God, can’t believe I fucked it up already.’_ He thought sadly. _‘Why can’t I just talk to her?’_

He wanted to, so badly, he wanted to tell Jenn how he felt, but whenever he was near her, he just got nervous and went to pieces. He would almost laugh at how pathetic it looked, if it didn’t make things so embarrassing for him.

* * *

 

Smiling to himself Daniel left his class, it was lunch time and he decided now was as good a time as any to look for Chris Eriksen and try talking to him. He looked for a while before finally finding him, but that was when things got difficult as he suddenly found himself faced with an unfortunate situation. For he found Chris, backed up against the wall, surrounding him was a group of boys Daniel knew to be the school bullies. Leading the group was a boy of ten with short brown hair and eyes, as well as fair skin. He was scrawny but was still threatening when he wanted to be, he was clad in a black T-shirt with brown pants and black shoes.

Daniel recognized him at once. _‘Uh oh, Michael, the school’s worst bully...but Chris is new here, he shouldn’t have any reason to...’_

Daniel’s thoughts were cut off when Michael suddenly grabbed Chris’ shirt, smirking.

“Alright new kid, look here, I’m in charge and you need to-” Michael began.

Chris looked rather pale but his voice was steady. “I’m not scared of you.”

Michael laughed. “Hah, look at the new kid, thinks he's tough.”

Seeing this Daniel got nervous, especially as he knew Michael all too well.

‘ _Seriously? Of all people…’_ He thought worriedly.

He knew he had to do something; but the thought of stepping up to Michael, let alone Michael and all his friends, was daunting. Still, taking another look at Chris who was once more pinned to the wall, Daniel finally made up his mind.  
  
“Hey!” He cried as he hurried forwards.  
  
“Huh?” Michael gasped before sneering. “Oh, Diaz, what do you want loser?”

Daniel had, by now, positioned himself between Chris and the bullies. Chris was staring wide-eyed, startled at Daniel’s actions.

“What the big idea?” Daniel snapped, trying to sound bravery than he felt.

Michael scoffed. “None of your business.”

“Excuse me?”

Michael suddenly glared. “You heard me Diaz, now get lost, go back under your rock.”

The words leapt from Daniel’s mouth before he could help himself. “Try me!”

“C’mon then!” Michael snapped.

With that he suddenly reacted, shoving Daniel who fell over, landing in the dirt.

Chris gasped, seeing this. _‘What the…?’_

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Michael laughed, joined by the other bullies and together they left, still laughing.

After they left Daniel grimaced as he managed to pull himself up, he noted his clothes were not covered with dirt and also ripped in places.

“Um...”

He turned and smiled when he saw Chris, but then winced.

“Urgh man...” He muttered before brightening again. “Hey there.”

“Th-thanks.” Chris replied.

Daniel nodded. “Anytime, oh, I’m Daniel Diaz by the way.”

“Chris Eriksen, but, you probably already know that.”

Daniel nodded and explained about being in Chris’ class. The two of them soon began chatting away and Daniel was amazed. Despite his obvious shyness, once they got to talking, Chris seemed to really open up, smiled easily and they soon found themselves sharing a love of superheroes and comics. Chris had just finished telling Daniel about his own superhero, Captain Spirit.

“Wow, cool.” Daniel replied with a grin. “Say...we’ve started talking like it, but, would you like to be friends?”

“What?” Chris gasped. “But, you just me, those guys...and you...”

Daniel shook his head. “Oh they’re jerks, don’t care about them.”

Chris seemed surprised by this, then grateful and smiled.

“Thanks.”

With that they both smiled and so marked the beginning of their friendship.

* * *

Later in the day, Sean sighed as he finally returned from school, getting off the bus with Lyla he shook his head.

“Urgh, is it just me or was today even worse than yesterday.”

“You’re exaggerating.” Lyla replied, shaking her head.”

“Oh yeah?” He shot back.  
  
“Yeah.”

Sean quirked an eyebrow at that. “Explain then how being embarrassed by my friends about the girl I like isn't...”

Lyla laughed, rolling her eyes. “Oh c'mon, give it a rest.”

“Whatever.” Sean shot back.  
  
They walked a little further and then Lyla smiled.

“Anyway, have to prep more for the party.” She remarked.

Sean nodded, conceding her point. “That's true yeah. The list from yesterday, um...”

Lyla laughed and shook her head. “Don’t worry, I remember it, here.”

With that she gave him the list, by writing it on his hand.

“Well, gotta rush to my end of things, see you later.”

Sean nodded and they parted, for once not stopping to chat as they usually did, they both wanted to get everything ready for tomorrow’s party after all. They already had costumes thankfully, so that was one less worry.

Unfortunately, there was another problem as Sean encountered when walking home. For he soon ran into Brett Foster along the way.

“Well, what have we here.” Brett taunted, getting Sean’s attention. “What’s trash like you doing roaming the streets.”

Sean rolled his eyes as Brett’s obvious insinuations. “Get lost.”

“Pathetic, is that all you got, hmm, what have we here?” Brett replied before acting.

“Hey!”

But he simply stepped away, having taken Sean’s phone from him and looking at it. Unfortunately for Sean, it was open at the page showing the texts between him and Jenn. Brett burst out laughing at that moment and Sean glared.  
  
“What?”  
  
“You’re gotta be kidding me.” Brett remarked. “You actually assume you can get a girl like that, she wouldn’t want someone like _you_ , she’d want a proper American...”

“Save it.” Sean replied, not in the mood to deal with Brett’s racist bullshit today. “And mind your own business.”

“You don’t even belong here.”

“Just shut up.” Sean remarked, snatching his phone back.

Brett however blocked his path, getting right in his face.

“You don’t talk to me like that, Diaz, you and your scum family...” He snarled. “She wouldn’t want to date anyone like you, that girl is too good for you, she wants a proper American, not some invading Greasball. She’ll never choose you and you know it.”

Shaking his head and sighing, Sean simply pushed past Brett, not rising to the obvious baiting, and headed for home.

Entering the house Sean paused briefly, as he noted his father and brother seated at the same counter as yesterday, it looked like they were in the middle of a conversation. They both looked up at that and Esteban straightened up.

“Ah Sean, just in time...” He said.

“Oh?”

“Dad, please...” Daniel began, sounding almost pleading.

“C’mon now.” Esteban remarked seriously, making it clear he was going to say it. “Daniel’s had a few issues at school, with his work.”

“Urgh, seriously again?” Sean replied, realizing what that meant.

Daniel had been letting himself get distracted in class again. Daniel groaned but before Sean could say anything else, he noticed something else.

“Wait a minute, Daniel, what…?” He gasped.

For he had just noticed Daniel’s torn and dirtied clothes as well as a few bruises.

Daniel shook his head. “Nothing I couldn't handle.”  
  
Not willing to just accept that, despite Daniel’s obvious bravado, Sean and Esteban shared a look.

Esteban sighed and looked at his youngest son seriously.

“Daniel...”

Daniel’s expression faltered and he sighed.

“It...there was a new kid in school today, in my class, his name is Chris Eriksen and...I wanted to talk him but found him being bullied by Michael and his friends...I tried to help him out, Michael was the one who shoved me and, and, well, this happened.” He admitted at last.

There was a lengthy silence after that.

Finally Esteban broke it. “Sean, I need to speak with Daniel alone for a moment.”  
  
Sean nodded, understanding. “Right, sure...no problem.”

With that he retreated to his room while Esteban walked Daniel over to Daniel’s room. Once alone in his room, door closed, Sean let out a low sigh before heading over to his computer, sitting down and Skyping Lyla.

She replied rather quickly. “Hey there.”  
  
“What’s up?” He greeted her, smiling.

She shrugged. “Nothing much, just, you know, getting ready for the party.”  
  
Sean nodded and replied. “Nice.”

Noting his reaction Lyla shook her head. “Yeah, hey, don’t look so anxious, should be easy getting everything we need, right?”  
  
“That’s the last thing on my mind.” He admitted.

“Huh?”  
  
Sean sighed and soon explained about Daniel and what happened.

“Oh my God...” Lyla gasped. “Damn...”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Sean agreed.

They continued to talk, Lyla clearly concerned for Daniel.

Meanwhile Daniel was seated on his bed, with his father sitting next to him.

“Okay Daniel, tell me exactly what happened, don’t leave anything out.” Esteban said.

Daniel nodded and began to explain it all, as he did so, Esteban was shocked. They both knew Michael after all and now they weren’t surprised. Nevertheless, this was something he to sort out.

“Daniel, this is...” He began.

Daniel replied quickly. “I was just trying to help Chris, I’d do it again, I don’t want him getting beat up, just for being the new kid.”

“Yet it’s not worth you getting yourself hurt, you need to think and be careful.” Esteban explained.

“Right.” Daniel replied before shaking his head. “But I, just don’t know what to do...”

“Let the teachers know what’s happening.” Esteban then explained.

Daniel thought for a moment. “I...okay.”  
  
He just hoped that this would work, that his father was right.

Later on in the evening, the Diaz family were all getting ready for their movie night, as it was a school night they wouldn’t be up late, but they were still determined to enjoy themselves. However while getting the popcorn ready, Sean noted a problem.

“Rats.” He muttered, shaking his head.

“Sean?”

He turned and saw Daniel there, looking at him curiously.

“Not enough popcorn.” He explained.

That was the issue right there, there wasn’t enough popcorn to go around. Daniel however smiled, he hadn’t forgotten how Sean had let him have the last Choc-o-Crisp yesterday.

So he made up his mind on what to do easily. “Here, we can share.”  
  
Sean was startled for a moment before smirking. “Thanks Daniel.”

With that they all got settled in and began watching their movies.

During a break in the movie Esteban suddenly turned to Sean.

“So, Sean, anything interesting happening at school?”

Sean thought for a moment, sipping his drink and then shrugged. “Nothing much, just, hanging out with everybody...I um, I spoke to Jenn...”

“Jenn, Jenn Murphy, the girl you’ve mentioned a few times before?” Esteban queried.

“That’s right.” Sean replied; before rolling his eyes. “What?”

He had noticed Daniel smirking and wasn’t about to let it go.

Daniel just laughed before teasing him, making kissy faces.

“Cool it, man.” Sean quickly said, trying to shut the teasing down.

But then Esteban spoke again. “Sean...”

Sean noticed his father’s tone and grimaced. _‘Oh great.’_

“You didn’t think of sharing this with me?” He said.

Sean quickly tried to stop things from going further. “Dad, it, it’s not like we’re together or anything, I just...”  
  
They were interrupted however by a sudden news report appearing on their screen.

“To anyone just tuning in, this is an emergency news report, we have just received word of a prison escape in Mexico...” The announcer began to explain.

Sean and Daniel didn’t put much stock in it; simply being annoyed at the movie being interrupted. But then they noticed their father’s reaction. He seemed panicked as the report continued, his eyes were wide and then, suddenly, before anything else could be said or done, Esteban stood up. Without a word he shut the TV off and hurriedly left to his room, the door slamming shut behind him.

“What the heck was that about?” Daniel asked shakily, finally breaking the silence.

Sean shrugged. “I dunno...”  
  
“Hope dad’s okay, I mean...” Daniel hesitated. “Maybe we should...”  
  
Daniel had just stood up at that moment.

Sean reacted at once, reaching out and stopping his younger brother.

“No Daniel, no.” He said quickly.

“But-”

Sean shook his head. “Dad will tell us when he’s ready, we shouldn’t go pestering him, that might upset him more.”

“I...I suppose.” Daniel agreed reluctantly.

So it was, despite their misgivings that both brothers cleaned everything away and, not disturbing their father, headed for their respective rooms to get ready for bed, hoping things would be better, or at least make more sense, in the morning.


	3. Friday 28th October 2016

**Life is Strange 2: Unexpected Trials**

**Episode 1: Secrets**

**Chapter 3**

_Friday 28 th October 2016  
_

Sean yawned as he woke up to yet another day, yet as he stretched he paused as he remembered what day it was.

‘ _28 th, Friday...the day of the party...glad I got everything ready last night.’ _He reflected with a small smirk.

So, with everything in mind he gathered up all he needed, making sure to pick up his bag, as well as a spare which carried his party supplies and costume, to spare him the hassle of coming home.

He nodded.  _‘Right, that’s everything, now...’_ He thought before he got dressed for the day.

Once dressed in a light red T-shirt, brown pants and sneakers and a matching red beanie, he left his room, ready for the day ahead. Meanwhile, in his own room, Daniel bit his lip, lost in thought. He was already dressed, in a yellow T-shirt, light jeans and simple sneakers.

He was thinking about last night.  _‘I just, I hope things will be okay. I’ll see Chris again and try to talk to him, if things get...out of hand, I just need to remember what dad said.’_

With that he also left his room. Seeing each other the brothers hurried to meet up at the door.

“Daniel, you’re early, I didn’t have to hurry you.” Sean joked.

Daniel just rolled his eyes. “This isn’t the time Sean, I mean...is Dad still…?”

Sean sighed. “I’m afraid so, I’m worried too, but I’m not sure what else we can do.”

“I guess.” Daniel said. “Well, we, better hurry, we don’t wanna be late, right?”

Sean just nodded at that, not even joking that Daniel of all people was saying that and with that they hurried out and caught their respective buses, easily making it to school on time.

* * *

 

Arriving at school Daniel smiled lightly as he looked around. He was actually early for a change and while normally that would make him bored or restless, today he decided to continue with what he had been doing yesterday. It wasn’t hard to find Chris, his shyness actually made him stand out as he avoided the crowd of other students. He was wearing faded jeans, a dark purple T-shirt and sneakers today. Daniel approached him and smiled once more.

“Hey Chris.”

Chris turned and smiled back. “Hi Daniel, what’s up?”

“Nothing much, you?”

Chris nodded. “I’m good.”

They began to hang out and Daniel noted that, especially compared to yesterday, Chris seemed more relaxed and became even more so as time passed with them talking. Daniel thought for a moment, he wanted to hang out more with Chris, for them to become better friends.

“Say, today, after school...you wanna, come around to my house, hang out more?” Daniel decided to ask.

Chris looked surprised but then smiled. “Sounds fun, I’ll have to ask dad, but I think it’ll be alright.”

Daniel smiled at that, nodding, certainly already hopeful. At that moment the bell rang and they headed to their class, ready to begin the day, for once Daniel was determined not to let his mind wander and actually focus on his work this time.

Later in the day, at lunch time, Daniel met Chris and they began hanging out again, eating lunch and chatting away. It was shortly after they finished eating that Daniel spotted them.

“Uh-oh.” He muttered.

Chris lifted his head. “What...oh?”  
  
He bit his lip, looking worried. It was Michael, dressed in a dark orange T-shirt, brown slacks and boots, leading his group towards them.

“Oh no, not again.” Chris muttered.

Daniel immediately recalled his father’s advice. “C’mon Chris, we can’t stand for this.”

“What, what are you…?”

“We’re going to talk to a teacher, it’s the best way, c’mon.” Daniel insisted.

Chris looked hesitant, but agreed and they quickly found their way back inside, before the could be accosted by Daniel and his group. It luckily didn’t take them long to find a teacher, a man roughly approaching middle age in a light blue button up shirt, khaki pants and brown shoes. Daniel recognized him as teaching the grade above his. He quickly led Chris over, asking to speak to the teacher privately. The teacher regarded them with slight surprise but agreed and led them to his office. Once there he sat down and spoke.

“Now then boys, how can I help you?”

With that they began to tell their story, including what happened the previous day. As they did so, the teacher’s expression darkened.

“Why am I not surprised that Michael Foster is involved.” He muttered. “They have done this before, I thought they’d have learned their lesson. Leave this to me.”

With that Daniel and Chris waited as the teacher went to call Michael and his group in, ready to deal with the matter at last.

Daniel shared a look with Chris and saw he looked worried.

“Hey, it’ll be okay.” He tried to reassure.

Chris bit his lip. “I hope so, I mean, I...”

Shaking his head Daniel spoke. “I’m sure the teacher can sort something out, so, let’s just wait and see. We’ve explained what happened, we just need to remember that we’re the ones telling the truth.”

“Right, yeah, you’re right.” Chris replied.

It was just after that the teacher returned, with Michael and his friends, Michael glared sharply at Chris and Daniel but Daniel didn’t even flinch and, seeing this, Chris steeled himself too.

“So, I think we all know why you’re here.” The teacher remarked, as he sat down. “Now I’ve spoken to each of you before this, about how you behave towards other students here. This bullying...”

Michael predictably spoke up. “We didn’t do anything, we were just trying to make friends with the new kid, but Diaz there, had to...”

“That will do, I am all too familiar with your attitude and behaviour, Michael Foster.” The teacher remarked sharply. “Consider this a warning, I will be talking with the Principal and we’ll likely have to involve your parents in this matter...all of you are on your last warning, you do not want to make things worse.”

Even Michael was struck speechless at the severity in the teachers tone and Daniel and Chris both felt glad they were not the ones in trouble here. They were permitted to leave then as the teacher continued to speak to the bullies and so they quickly left, happy in the knowledge that things were being taken care of.

With school finally over for the day Daniel smiled as he stood outside with Daniel.

“Here, in case we wanna call and hang out more.” He said, handing over his home’s phone number to Chris.

Chris laughed and then held out his own slip of paper. “I was, kinda thinking the same thing.”

Daniel laughed too and they took the numbers, it was then Daniel spotted a man walking towards them. He was tall and had blue eyes, close-cropped brown hair with uneven side-swept bangs, and a light beard and moustache. He was clad in a grey T-shirt under a dark blue windbreaker, faded jeans and boots. It was then Chris saw him and smiled, hurrying over to him.

“Dad!” He called.

Daniel was slightly surprised but then followed, maybe they could talk to Chris’ dad about Chris coming over after school today earlier than they thought.

* * *

 

Sean couldn’t help but grin as he worked his way through the crowded hall. A lot of people had turned up for the party and already the place was packed, the music loud and people were getting drunk, high or simply eating. In short, it was his view of an amazing party.

‘ _Gotta keep my wits about me though, don’t wanna make a fool of myself.’_ He thought to himself. _‘Need to stay focused if I want to accomplish my wishes here.’_

He looked around, smirking slightly, everybody was putting in some real effort with their costumes and he was quite pleased with his own. He had gone with a Game of Thrones theme with a Gendry Waters costume. One person stood out to him thought, thanks largely to their lack of effort.

‘ _Typical Harv, only shows up to drink or smoke, never gets in the actual mood.’_ Sean reflected.

It was true, Harv was not in costume, just wearing a tight black T-shirt, brown pants and sneakers.

“Hey Sean, care to join us.”

He turned as he heard Ellery’s voice and grinned when he saw him, along with Eric and Adam. They had clearly gone for a group theme dressing as the Three Musketeers, using the more recent TV show as their inspiration.

“I’d like to guys, but I’ve uh, got something I need to do, maybe later?” He called back.

They all smirked at him and urged him onwards, Sean rolled his eyes but continued to work his way through the hall.

He was looking for Jenn, hoping to talk to her, also hoping his stumbling yesterday didn’t  mean this was going to end in embarrassment for him.

“Gendry Waters, at least pick someone who is a main character.”

He rolled his eyes and turned. “Hello to you too Lyla.”

She smirked as she stepped up next to him, clearly she had gotten into the spirit of things, yet her comment about hoping to score also played true, for she had chosen a sexy witch costume. She was  wearing a purple-and-black blouse dress with a light purple ribbon cross-stitched in the center, a black cat standing on a silhouette stand in the yellow moon, purple coloured pocket on the right side of the dress part, red cross lines on the front and back, a black witch hat with two purple diamond shapes on the front, black and purple striped high heel socks going pass her knees, black slip in high heels, and a witches broom held in her right hand.

“Nice touch.” He said with a smirk.

“Oh I think it works for me.” She shot back. “Say, I can tell you’re worrying, look, Jenn didn’t think anything bad about you stumbling over your words yesterday, trust me, she’s still interested in talking to you. Now go talk to her.”

“I will, once I find her.” Sean replied, feeling better.

Lyla nodded and soon they went their separate ways, with Sean preparing himself to finally talk with Jenn.

He stopped for a moment, grinning widely when he saw her, he was amazed at what she had done, yet she was still instantly recognizable to him. She had her hair down and had dyed it violet and turquoise with pink roots. She had opted for a cute and somewhat sexy cat costume too.  She was wearing a black short dress with puffy black fluff underneath, a pink ribbon cross tied in the front of her dress, a lining at the bottom of her dress with a leopard spot pattern, two finger-less gloves in the leopard pattern with a pink ribbon on the surface, two high heels with the leopard pattern as a colour, a leopard tail attached to the dress on the rear end, and on her head was a cat ear headband and painted on cat facial features.

‘ _Wow, she looks, amazing, I...okay, this is it...’_ He thought to himself, before starting to move, then stopping suddenly. _‘Huh…?’_

He froze when he saw Jenn wasn’t alone. A tall young man around the same age with short black hair, blue eyes and fair skin, as well as a reasonably toned build stood next to her, dressed as a mad scientist. He was smiling and chatting away.

Sean recognized him at once. _‘Derek Anderson, what is he doing...no...’_

He froze as he saw the expression on Derek’s face and realized right away what was going on, he was flirting with Jenn.

Sean froze, shocked and conflicted; he knew Derek Anderson well enough to know that there was a very good chance of Jenn choosing him as a boyfriend. He grimaced, was this life playing a cruel joke of him, making him witness his missed chance. While downhearted he did not want to cause an issue, especially in front of Jenn. So, dejected, he turned and began to walk back the way he came. He ran into Lyla as he did so and she smiled.  
“There you are, so, how did...” She began but trailed off.

Her enthusiasm disappeared as she noted Sean’s lack of joy.

“Sean...” She began, worried.

Sean shook his head. “I’m actually, kinda tired Lyla, goodnight.”

With that, he left the party, not once looking back.

**Epilogue  
**

Daniel and Chris both smiled, laughing together as they sat in the living room of the Diaz house, watching TV. Just then the front door opened and Sean entered, Daniel leapt up and prepared to introduce Chris to his brother but then stopped. Sean looked rather dejected, as if something terrible had happened. Before he could say anything, Sean, who didn’t seem to be paying any attention to his surroundings, left for his room, closing the door behind him, leaving Daniel and Chris to share a confused look.

At the party, Lyla bit her lip as she looked at her phone, she was worried as she had been trying to reach Sean, but he wasn’t answering. Just then Jenn approached her, looking confused and caught her attention, Lyla immediately began to talk to her, the two of them sharing their confusion and worries.

Back at his home, Sean lay on top of his bed, still fully dressed, staring at the ceiling in a dark mood. Meanwhile, in his own room, Esteban paced back and forth, clearly panicked about something.

**Next Time on Unexpected Trials:  
**

Sean approached the book, lying haphazardly on the locker room floor, it looked like a journal of some sort. Curious he picked it up, noting the name on the cover, Derek Anderson. He held it open in front of him, at the pages it had fallen open to and read them. At once he froze, horrified by what he had just read. He couldn’t believe it, the sickening truth laid out in front of him.


End file.
